Special report: Inside the international mystery of the missing Wisconsin kayaker who allegedly faked his own death, & the fallout after he came back
GREEN LAKE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The saga of the missing Wisconsin kayaker took yet another twist when Ryan Borgwardt returned to the US with little warning.
Borgwardt was believed to be in the republic of Georgia for the past several months after allegedly faking his own death in August, then fleeing the country.
The questions intensified as the story shifted, and more people were swept up in the fallout.
The emotional swings of this case have impacted many people throughout the state and the country and goes far beyond just Borgwardt's wife, three children, and his family.
At first the community grieved his death. Later there was relief he was actually alive.
But now confusion remains over why Borgwardt did it in the first place, and questions swirl over how he tried to pull it off.
The deception lasted four months, it spanned several continents, cost tens of thousands of dollars, endangered lives, and impacted countless people.
But what captured the nation's attention began with one man's plan.
On Aug. 11, Watertown's Ryan Borgwardt, one month shy of his 45th birthday, went to church with his wife and their three children in the morning.
That night, he took a kayak an hour northwest to Green Lake to fish. At 10:49 p.m., he texted his wife that he was heading to shore. He never returned.
A search began the next morning.
Borgwardt's overturned kayak was found in the deepest part of the lake, but no body. A few days later his fishing rod and tacklebox were found; his phone and wallet were inside, but no body. Two weeks later divers and cadaver dogs joined the search; still no body.
Keith Cormican, a volunteer searcher who operates Bruce's Legacy Search & Rescue, said at the time, "As the days kept going, the questions started growing as well. You know, is he really here?"
For 54 days, volunteers and professionals searched the lake by water, air, and land.
There were few answers.
Searchers were stumped. There was no sign of a body after months and miles of combing the lake. So investigators started working on a new theory: was it possible Ryan was still alive?
Nearly two months after Borgwardt went missing, investigators discovered his passport had been checked at the Canadian border just two days after he supposedly drowned.
They got Borgwardt's laptop from his wife and analyzed the hard drive.
The story began to unravel.
The laptop showed that before he disappeared, Borgwardt was communicating with a woman believed to be from Uzbekistan.
He had also looked into moving money to foreign banks, changed the email addresses connected to his bank accounts, and obtained a second passport.
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said then, "We got many pieces, but we got a lot more pieces to find."
Authorities sent Borgwardt an email, wherever he was.
Podoll said, "I plead that you contact us or contact your family."
They finally got a response, then Borgwardt sent a video to prove it was him.
In the video, filmed in a sparsely decorated room, Borgwardt said into the camera, "Good evening, it's Ryan Borgwardt. I'm in my apartment. I am safe, secure."
As authorities communicated with him, Borgwardt explained how he fled the country:
- He paddled the kayak to the middle of Green Lake the night of Aug. 11.
- He overturned the kayak, and tossed his phone, wallet, and fishing gear.
- He paddled back to shore in an inflatable raft.
- Borgwardt then rode through the night to Madison on an electric bike he had stashed near the shore.
- He took $5500 cash with him and hopped a bus to Detroit, got into Canada through customs, then continued on to Toronto.
- He flew from Toronto to Paris, then caught a final flight to the country of Georgia.
Podoll said, "The great news is he's alive."
But the question was why he left in the first place.
Ryan eventually told authorities he had "spent a great deal of time researching how to disappear", and the "whole idea was to sell the death."
And he said he would not come back.
Podoll said, "We are expressing the importance of his decision to return home."
And Podoll tried to explain Borgwardt's state of mind, saying, "He just had personal matters going on. And he felt this was the right thing to do." He added, "He says, 'You know, I got myself into this situation, I just have to try to get out of it.'"
But Borgwardt still had not contacted his wife and children.
For weeks, Borgwardt remained overseas. But then in December, with little warning, he was back stateside. Four months after he first went missing, he turned himself in in Green Lake County, just across the lake from where he allegedly staged his death.
At a Dec. 11 news conference, Podoll said Borgwardt returned to the US the day before. "On Dec. 10th, Ryan arrived on US soil."
The return happened quietly.
Borgwardt emailed authorities that he was coming back, then turned himself in at the Green Lake County jail.
Podoll celebrated the homecoming, but complications remained.
Authorities were still piecing together where exactly Borgwardt went, who he was with, and why he fled his family.
Podoll wouldn't speculate. "That's going to be up to him someday. But we're not going to release that."
Borgward was charged with obstructing an officer for allegedly leaving the kayak, phone, and wallet as false evidence.
He appeared in court the day after turning himself in. He did not have an attorney yet.
When the judge asked him what he'd like for bail, Borgwardt said, "I have $20 in my wallet in the other room, so that's what I have." He added, "I can't pay. I don't have money. So, I'll defend myself."
Judge Mark Slate ruled he was not a flight risk. "He has come back, apparently halfway around the world. Voluntarily turned himself in."
Slate issued a $500 signature bond, which did not require payment. Soon after, Borgwardt signed the bond and he was released.
But the fallout will likely extend beyond the obstruction charge.
Podoll has consistently said he'll pursue restitution for the costs of the county's search, estimated at $35,000-$40,000.
Other searchers also absorbed significant costs.
Keith Cormican, of Bruce's Legacy Search & Rescue, said, "To have the outcome of him being in a different country for those reasons, it's just unthinkable."
And they risked their lives and livelihoods looking for a body that wasn't there.
Search & rescue diver Charlie DeGroot explained, "You're going down in super deep water, then coming up super shallow. Which just wreaks havoc on your body and on your equipment."
But DeGroot also said, "I guess I have a level of sympathy for the guy. Like what in his life caused him to do this?"
Whatever Borgwardt's reason, it's impacted many people close to him.
Vikki Stark, a psychotherapist, said, "Women in this situation don't have the luxury of closure."
Stark facilitates a Facebook group called Runaway Husbands. She said family and friends must cope with the emotional damage done. "It's traumatic. It's literally traumatic."
Two days after Borgwardt returned to the US, his wife filed for separation.
Stark said confusion is common for families left behind when spouses leave.
She said, "The wife's whole reality is thrown into question. So, it's not only her present and her future, but it's also her past."
Neither Borgwardt's wife, nor their three teen children have spoken publicly about the ordeal.
As millions of people across the country followed every twist and turn in the case, the questions intensified.
The answers may never be satisfactory.
The only comments Borgwardt has made so far were in court.
He did not say anything about why he allegedly faked his own death, why he fled the country, and why he put his family and friends through an emotional nightmare.
The next we could hear from him is Jan. 13th at his status hearing.
We have tried several times to contact Borgwardt via various listed phone numbers and email addresses. But so far, we have not heard back.